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Paul Finebaum lists Tennessee as SEC's biggest excitement right now

On3 imageby:Sam Gillenwater•09/14/23•

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Tennessee HC Josh Heupel
Randy Sartin | USA TODAY Sports

A few of the SEC’s biggest teams haven’t reached the heights that we’ve become accustomed to as of late. Some have tripped to start this season while others have struggled for the past few. That’s why, to Paul Finebaum, the emergence of Tennessee has been a saving grace for the league in a sense.

Finebaum pointed out the Volunteers’ bright future in an appearance on ‘The Audible’ on Wednesday. With the current direction that Josh Heupel has Tennessee moving in, Finebaum believes he has reawakened a sleeping giant in the sport over in Knoxville.

“I think Tennessee is probably the one that you have to grab on to. They have one of the most dynamic offensive coaches in the country,” Finebaum said.

“It’s also a program that’s been dormant for so long. When you see Tennessee on the national stage? I think it energizes you.”

In the 25 years since Tennessee’s 1998 national title, the Vols have posted some pretty good seasons. However, they also spent a decent amount of time in no man’s land. That included the four-year stretch from 2017 to 2020, the final year of Butch Jones’ tenure and the duration of Jeremy Pruitt’s. In that time, UT went 20-25 with three losing seasons overall

That’s when Heupel came in and, in just over two seasons, has completely turned the potential of the program around. They may have only gone 7-6 in his first season but they put up the nation’s seventh-best offense with an average of 39.3 points per game.

Then, the following year, they had one of the school’s all-time great years with an 11-2 finish. It was highlighted by the nation’s top offense at 46.1 points per game. It also featured six Top-25 wins with one ending their losing streak to Alabama and another coming in the Orange Bowl against Clemson.

Now, in Heupel’s third year, Tennessee is already 2-0 and is averaging 39.5 points a contest. They’re also on the verge of breaking another streak as they look for the first win in Gainesville since 2003 and their first pair of back-to-back wins over Florida since ’03-’04 this weekend.

That’s why, to Finebaum, that interest surrounding the Volunteers is why the SEC should be happy to see Tennessee back on rocky top again.

Tennessee reveals uniform combination for matchup vs. Florida

Ahead of their contest versus Florida, the Tennessee Volunteers used a Drake album cover to announce their uniform combo.

The official team Twitter account let fans know early in the morning on Thursday that their jerseys on Saturday will be icy white like the diamonds on the What a Time to Be Alive album by Drake and Future from 2015.

Check them out:

Tennessee wore its traditional home look at Nissan Stadium in Nashville in a 49-13 win over Virginia. Then, last Saturday, Tennessee debuted the newest edition of The Smokey Grey series in a 30-13 win over Austin Peay. They wore the ‘Artful Dodger’ version of the alternate uniform, paying homage to Condredge Holloway.

No. 11 Tennessee (2-0) and Florida (1-1) will kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. EST on ESPN at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.